A wiki is a website that anyone can edit easily using a regular web browser. If you can use a word processor, copy and paste, and send an email attachment, you can create a wiki. A wiki may include text, images, web links, file attachments, audio, video and other embedded media. Wiki software automatically records every edit and archives every saved version of a page, making it easy to track changes and "roll-back" to a former version of a page. Essentially, a wiki is anything you want it to be.
Wikis are simple to create and easy to use. They encourage collaboration and shared knowledge construction. They are often built and edited by many users at once. Wikis are powerful, flexible containers for content. Teachers and students can use wikis for publishing, organizing, and sharing virtually any content – professional, creative or academic.
Wiki in Education Resources
TeachersFirst Wiki Walkthrough - http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/
Great overview of basic wiki features plus lots of ideas for classroom wikis, including a specific section for younger grades.
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
The biggest multilingual free-content encyclopedia on the Internet. Over 7 million articles in over 200 languages, and still growing.
Turn Homeward, Hannalee - http://wiki.woodward.edu/hannalee/doku.php
Fifth grade reading students at Woodward Academy created a comprehensive study guide for a historical novel set in the Civil War era.
21st Century Learning - http://21stcenturylearning.wetpaint.com/> Collaboration by small group of teachers seeking to explore and apply 21st Century Learning principles and tools.
Westwood Schools Computer Science - http://westwood.wikispaces.com
Classroom wiki for Vicki Davis' (coolcatteacher) high school computer science courses.
Go West - http://gowest.wikispaces.com
Woodward Academy third graders share their learning about Westward Expansion along the Oregon Trail.
NISC Atlanta - http://nisc.wikispaces.com
Independent School parents and some faculty create preliminary shared resources on the new Read/Write Web.
7th Grade Geography - http://worldgeopost07.wikispaces.com
Collaborative research for VoiceThread presentations about Latin America countries -- first project for teacher to test process.
Teen Life Wiki - http://teenlife.pbwiki.com/
7th and 8th graders from four countries dig deep to understand teen life globally.
What is a Wiki?
A wiki is a website that anyone can edit easily using a regular web browser. If you can use a word processor, copy and paste, and send an email attachment, you can create a wiki. A wiki may include text, images, web links, file attachments, audio, video and other embedded media. Wiki software automatically records every edit and archives every saved version of a page, making it easy to track changes and "roll-back" to a former version of a page. Essentially, a wiki is anything you want it to be.*Video: Wikis in Plain English - http://www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-english
This excellent 3-minute video explains Wiki in clear, simple terms. Watch it.
Why Wikis in Education?
Wikis are simple to create and easy to use. They encourage collaboration and shared knowledge construction. They are often built and edited by many users at once. Wikis are powerful, flexible containers for content. Teachers and students can use wikis for publishing, organizing, and sharing virtually any content – professional, creative or academic.Wiki in Education Resources
Great overview of basic wiki features plus lots of ideas for classroom wikis, including a specific section for younger grades.
Article from Cool Cat Teacher about her first experience using wikis with students.
A collection of edcucational wiki resources and examples of Wikispaces uses in K-12 .
Article by Stewart Mader of Brown University. Listen to and/or watch his presentation on this topic.
Create a Wiki
Ad-free wikis for educators offering 2 GB online storage, 10 MB file uploads, a WYSIWIG editor, support for images, file attachments and media such as podcasts/audio, video and other embeddable widgets and content. You must use the special teacher sign up to create your free educator wikispace: http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers100K> Video: WikiSpaces Tours - http://www.wikispaces.com/site/tour
PBwiki now offers ad-free wikis for educators, allowing for public or private settings.
Video: PBWiki: Helping Educators Educate - http://www.blip.tv/file/160494/
Video: Learn How To PBWiki - http://pbwiki.com/videos/
General Wiki Examples
The biggest multilingual free-content encyclopedia on the Internet. Over 7 million articles in over 200 languages, and still growing.
A collaborative writing project to build the world's largest how-to manual.
A listing of the largest wiki sites in the wikia community
Educational Wiki Examples
- Colonial America- http://colonialthirdgrade.wikispaces.com/
Wesleyan third graders share their learning about Colonial America.Award-winning global collaboration between high school students in U.S. and Bangladesh. Students studied and reported on each of the ten "flatteners" presented in Friedman's The World is Flat, using a variety of Web 2.0 tools.
Video: Flat Classroom Project Review - http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=a5a58079f0f3526c87c5
Fifth grade reading students at Woodward Academy created a comprehensive study guide for a historical novel set in the Civil War era.
Sixth grade classroom wiki. Includes book reviews by students.
Canadian elementary school website.
Classroom wiki for Vicki Davis' (coolcatteacher) high school computer science courses.
Woodward Academy third graders share their learning about Westward Expansion along the Oregon Trail.
Independent School parents and some faculty create preliminary shared resources on the new Read/Write Web.
Collaborative research for VoiceThread presentations about Latin America countries -- first project for teacher to test process.
7th and 8th graders from four countries dig deep to understand teen life globally.
Primary school art class website and online gallery.
Techniques:
Tools You Can Use on Your Wiki